Today as I was driving home, I heard a song on the radio by Jay Z. Just when I thought that I had heard every record Jay Z will make, and signed him off as a rapper that had his moment, he came out with a collaboration with Kanye West and Rihanna called "Run This Town". A song and video that pulled me right back to bobbing my head to the music and feeling like Jay Z just got his swagger back.

As designers we have an advantage over many other professionals. We have the ability to completely lose ourselves in the imagination of possibilities, chase our creativity to new horizons, and seek new inspiration from the tiniest things. But even when that fails, we still have our creative colleagues to help us out.

Collaboration is becoming more and more important as we find ourselves surrounded by a world of talent. Yes, there are those that create genius by locking themselves away from the world and in 3 month produce miracles, but I'm guessing that they are in the minority. In my experience the best design work usually comes from the synergistic collaboration of the right creative design team.

As freelance designers, it can be hard sometimes to brainstorm when it's only you and the voice in your head at the round table. Try to find three to five creative pros like yourself whose expertise is different from yours and start building a killer A-Team to work on new design projects.

Competition is fierce today. Customers have many options to choose from. With everyone looking to be successful, the demand for quality and the bar for perfection have risen. You have to be effective, efficient, and frankly... damn good if you want your customers to talk about you or continue to give you new business.

Creating that shortlist of your top talents can lead to many new opportunities and design projects that may not have been possible otherwise.

Are You Looking For Designers To Collaborate With? 

Join The Styleapple Design Network: Build Your Design Team>>

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I know as a design professional, finding the right designer to do a specific job can be time consuming and somewhat difficult, much less trying to find one when you're outside the design industry and not familiar with design at all. I've created the "Hire A Designer" series to help clients find the right designer by giving them some valuable tips on what to look for when hiring for their next big project.

I will be selecting design professionals from within the Styleapple design network to participate in this series and present what they feel are the top 10 most important things to look for when hiring a designer.

This week I've managed to secure Camille Wilkinson to discuss what she feels are the ten most important things to consider when hiring a fashion designer. Camille Wilkinson has worked in the fashion industry for over 25 years and has created a reputation for working with some of the top brands in the industry. I have had the chance to work with Camille and found her to be both professional and very creative. You can see some of her design work on Styleapple.

The designer tips in this series will be introduced on Branded Designers but the complete list will be posted on the Styleapple "Hire A Designer" pages where clients are submitting quote requests to the Styleapple Network.

Here is a briefing of Camille's Top 10...

POINT 1. From the first online (or offline) portfolio to the last portfolio you sift through, ask yourself: Which one blew you out of your socks?

POINT 2. Those portfolios that knock your socks off are where to start your follow-up.

POINT 3. What made them catch your eye, hold your breath, and call in the rest of your team to see what you see. If you know what you need, seeing what fits the bill should be easy. The plus of looking, is if you find something more, something je ne sais pas (I don't know what), but when you see it - wow - you know it.

It might be good to know what kind of environment they best design in... It is not just a passing curiosity to know how a designer thrives best. And aside from the physical environment, what is the computer environment or OS (operating system) - along with the programs - that made their work pop. Genius may also have its source in the tools used.

POINT 4. A good portfolio contains - like manners - a designer's best foot forward, their best work, their best representation of all of what they can do as a designer. And like manners, it's not a façade, it's not a put-on, it's in fact the super powers that they have cultivated throughout their career to the point where they are now: Now, ‘You Are Here'. So no worries, they should be able to back up what ever they have presented. That is to say, they should be able to apply all their talents and skills to whatever you may challenge them with.

POINT 5. Check and balance your initial awe of pretty pictures with sound design process practicalities. If you don't see it in the portfolio, and you still want to investigate what the designer is capable of, let this be one question in your first line of defense upon interviewing:

QUESTION #1. Are you capable of detailing your designs in a tech pack?
You should also ask:
QUESTION #2. Are you capable of leading fit meetings for your designs?
And since you are on this track, ask this:
QUESTION #3. Are you knowledgeable of fabric types, constructions, knitting qualities, and gauges?

Yes, you need to get technical with a prospective designer, to know the perimeters of their skills. Even if you have departments who this work is delegated to, a designer must know how to communicate with them to get their designs to the next stage. 

See the complete list here>>

If you are interested in writing a top 10 for your discipline in design. Feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly at calvin [at] styleapple [dot] com

Are You Looking To Hire A Designer? 

Get A Free Project Quote From The Styleapple Design Network: Get A Freelancer>>

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We've been working hard, very hard these past few months on some major projects I believe will assist my designer colleagues who are looking to create some success in 2009 and beyond.

We are now in beta for our new website: www.styleapple.com which has been going very well, Thanks to all our beta testers for taking part in our bug hunting process. BTW, We are still accepting beta testers as we continue to develop the site. [Become A Beta Tester]

Branded Designers - The Agency,  Camille Wilkinson - Fashion Designer From New York City

We have also started Branded Designers - The Agency. I've always had a desire to help young designers grow their businesses. The Agency will do just that. Branded Designers - The Agency is a talent agency focused in the creative industry. We will represent a selected group of designers, providing the personalized service designers need when starting a new venture or simply finding new freelance projects.

We are currently accepting applications until we have reached our capacity. The Agency will only represent a few selected designers in order for us to effectively serve the designers we represent. All remaining applications will be placed on our waiting list.

To apply simply submit your profile on www.styleapple.com and send us an email title: Branded Designers Application, please include your name, title and location in the email.
I looking forward to working with you.

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Designer From The Ukraine Profile on Odesk.com

I talk about the global economy a lot. And the reason I do is because I'm fascinated by the business reach and earning potential of this new economy, BUT... I recently did a survey, which I will reveal the results once I've analyzed the data, but from that survey I'm under the impression that there are mainly four (4) services employers use to find designers and to fill open positions.

1) Job boards - like Style Careers, Coroflot , Monster, etc
2) Referrals - Getting referred by a friend or colleague
3) Temp agencies - like 24 Seven, Project Solvers and the likes
4) Freelance Projects Auction Sites - like Elance and Odesk.

Now 3 out of 4 of these options, the designer has somewhat of a local control more or less over the competition with which he or she can bid for the design project. But freelance auction sites like elance.com and odesk.com tend to be truly a global effort. Where you are competing with designers all over the world for a local project. Conventional thinking says that the broader your business reach the better, but is that always the case? With websites like Elance and Odesk one would suggest that an obvious flaw or lopsidedness of this type of system is perhaps the dynamic relationship between the project price and designer location.

Same Designer from the Ukraine Hourly Rate $12.22/Hr

What do I mean by this? Well let's say a company in New York decides to use odesk.com for a design project. Using current rates for local designers in New York, this project can be easily quoted at $70/hr and up. Whereas on Odesk.com that same project can be bid down to $15-$20 an hour. Therein lies the million dollar question.

Even though we are now working in a global economy, designers still live in their respective local economies with local bills to pay. How does a designer from New York, Austria or the UK compete with designers living in Africa or India?  This is obviously not a new question I'm proposing., but I would really like to get your feedback on whether or not designers find this kind of service useful when looking for new design work?

Are You Looking To Hire A Designer? 

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I was recently talking to a friend of mine about freelancing and how one can successfully transition to becoming the highly sought after, genius, guru, freelance designer guy or gal that everyone wants to be like. Well a few years back I started freelancing and my idea of freelancing was to simply sign up with a few fashion temp agencies, sit back and have them call me when new projects came up! (yes I was that guy) Surprisingly enough it worked for a while... BACK THEN. Today we're in a recession. We have to be alot more proactive when decided to take the freelancing route. I've outlined a checklist that will help make your transition as smooth as possible bacause I would hate to see you prematurely go out there, find yourself in financial trouble and end up begging for your old job back... not cool.

The Recession Proof Freelance Designer Check List

1. Are you business minded?
2. Are you currently working full time?
3. Are you freelancing on the side right now?
4. Do you have customers that can transition to a full time gig if you quit your full time job?
5. Do you have savings to help you with your transition to freelance?
6. Do you have a list of potential clients [contact names and numbers] that you know can get you freelance projects (at least 15 contacts)?
7. Is your Design Portfolio up to date?
8. Do you have a freelance website and blog?
9. Have you discussed your plans with your wife or significant other?
10. Is the quality of your work/design portfolio competitive in your field?

If you've answered yes to the above questions, kudos to you, you're ready to rip the chains off your neck, flip your boss the bird (not recommended) and get on the highway to financial independence. On the other hand, if you didn't answer yes to the above questions, you might want to hang around for a little longer; prepare yourself by making sure you're well equipped to weather the first 3 months on your own. Preparing for freelancing is like anything else, if you're not well prepared you may not be successful. I've noted a few articles and websites that will help you with additional questions. As I find them I'll update the Freelance Designer Wall. Please don't sit and wait for temp agencies to find you work; go out there, be proactive and demand the work; excel and show your clients that you are serious about your business; once you've done some amazing work for them; that guarantee repeat business and referrals coming your way. Happy Freelancing. Cheers.

FREELANCE DESIGNER WALL [Articles, Advise and Projects]

• Freelance Switch is a great resource for Finding Freelance work as well as getting some valuable advice; I found topics such as 101 Ideas to Get More Freelance Work and Generate New Client Leads to 101 Essential Freelancing Resources.

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